The first iPhone line waiters have already staked their claim outside New York's iconic Fifth Ave Apple Store, camping in front of the shop's jumbo glass gemstone a full four days before the company will formally acknowledge the new products exist.

Joe and Brian of Brooklyn, NY were first to queue up Thursday evening for Apple's next iPhone.

As of Friday afternoon, a total of four people could be seen waiting in line for Apple's evolution in mobile computing, even though the company has yet to officially announce some basic, yet semi-critical details such as how much the device will cost and precisely when you'll be able to walk out of a store with one.

Die-hards Joe and Brian -- both local New Yorkers from Brooklyn -- are currently first in line. They told AppleInsider they checked the weather report before rolling up Thursday night and pitched their camping chairs, preparing for the long haul.

Both were adamant that they had no plans to skirt unspoken line-waiter law and therefore wouldn't be taking turns holding down their fort or deviating from their spot -- except when nature calls, that is.

Justin and John will sacrifice their hygiene indefinitely to help promote employer SellYourMac.

When asked what they plan to do if Apple doesn't release the devices to consumers until Sept. 20th -- a full two weeks away -- Joe and Brian simply shrugged their shoulders and said: "We'll wait!"

The same was case two chairs down, where Justin and John of Cincinnati's SellYourMac.com -- clearly on a promotional assignment -- sat flanking a stack of knapsacks, sleeping bags and bare essentials.

Like Joe and Brian, both appeared to be relishing the onset of the line-waiter experience and were in the process of concocting a plan that would hopefully keep them connected before their initial charges ran dry.

Apple is scheduled to hold a media event next Tuesday, at which the company is widely expected to unveil both a flagship "iPhone 5S," as well as a lower priced "iPhone 5C" model. Rumors point to a Sept. 20 rollout, as major U.S. cellular carriers issued blackout periods for employees on and around that date.

Lending further credence to the release estimate, AppleInsider reported in August that Apple support personnel have also been restricted from taking vacations from Sept. 15 through 28.

Would have been great had Apple managed to acquire some of that vacant land across the intersection on which to build the store. It's a beautiful spot and would form a spectacular backdrop to these images, rather than the dull brown and off-white colours evident currently. (Okay, I'll say outright, 'tongue-in-cheek.)

I had fun waiting in line this morning at a non-Apple-owned Apple store. First 50 people got some swag. The store even furnished free donuts and drinks for the waiting line. Now camping out for several days is a whole different level of "fun."

Meanwhile:

Android 4.3 was released to Nexus devices a little over a month ago, but, as is usual with Android updates, it's taking much longer to roll out the general public. Right now, a little over six percent of Android users have the latest version. And if you pay attention to the various Android forums out there, you may have noticed something: no one cares.

"That (the) world is moving so quickly that iOS is already amongst the older mobile operating systems in active development today." — The Verge

I had fun waiting in line this morning at a non-Apple-owned Apple store. First 50 people got some swag. The store even furnished free donuts and drinks for the waiting line. Now camping out for several days is a whole different level of "fun."

Meanwhile:
Android 4.3 was released to Nexus devices a little over a month ago, but, as is usual with Android updates, it's taking much longer to roll out the general public. Right now, a little over six percent of Android users have the latest version. And if you pay attention to the various Android forums out there, you may have noticed something: no one cares.

I think a lot of them are waiting for Mars Bar to update.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

No. They are part of a fraud empire that's rampant throughout Brooklyn and notorious for stealing Verizon and AT&T customer info and taking it to the Apple Store to add 2 lines or more to "their" account. They pay for the phones in cash then unlock them and sell them for full retail price making a nice $450 profit for themselves. The 5S is more important to them than anyone else. This is their job. You will probably hear more about this in the future. And there you have it.

Meanwhile:
Android 4.3 was released to Nexus devices a little over a month ago, but, as is usual with Android updates, it's taking much longer to roll out the general public. Right now, a little over six percent of Android users have the latest version. And if you pay attention to the various Android forums out there, you may have noticed something: no one cares.

Then why do you care? Especially mentioning it on a thread that doesn't mention Android at all.

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" Mark Twain"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX

Has this ever happened before? I know that people camping outside apple stores is standard by now. But 2 weeks in advance?

That's typical for the larger cities. Not only do they wait in line 2 weeks prior to the announcement date, it's still another week or two until the product actually ships, and apparently, Apple will STILL make them sign on-line to reserve the product ahead of time.

I don't think Samsung gets as many people standing in line ahead of a product announcement for an Android product.

I remember people used to do this for concert tickets to certain bands back in the 70's.

How do they get around doing the basic personal hygine stuff camping like that for days..

Like shower, brush etc.. :) Enlighten me !

Patchouli oil. You know, that weird smell that's typically at concerts. It hides body oder and pot smoke. It was popular amongst the Grateful Dead fans that would follow the band around the country and since they couldn't always take a shower and they would consume large amounts of pot. It's powerful stuff.

LOL.. Seriously, I don't know if they use this for the people on line at the Apple Stores, but it wouldn't surprise me if a few did.

I know right? Why go to a concern when you can listen to the artist on CD from the comfort of your own home?

Well that's a complete failure of a comparison. If you're going to use an example, at least do it right. It would be like going to pickup a CD on release day from the store instead of ordering it online.

Is that old lady with the shopping bags waiting for a phone too? Who cares if you get a phone on the first day of its release or not? Frankly, I'm surprised the NYC police let them stay out there for days at a time. These clowns make slackers look like highly productive people.

Personally, I can't stand standing in line for more than 10 minutes. It's really not very comfortable standing in line day and night for days. Sunday night is going to hit a low of 53 degrees in NYC. If it gets below 50, NYC apartment buildings have to send up heat. It's not fun to be around someone who hasn't bathed in days.

I don't know what all the fuss is about. Every indication is that these phones are not going to be major upgrades from what we already have (one even might be a downgrade). Even the fingerprint sensor doesn't thrill me - I don't put a password on my phone anyway, since it's always with me and if I lose it, I can kill it remotely. Besides, if it does have a fingerprint sensor for security, but it doesn't have the capability of multiple users, that's going to make the phone not work for people who either sometimes share the phone or someone who wants to hand it to their kids, etc.

Somehow I get the feeling that there isn't going to be a shortage of phones this time around. Not everyone feels the compulsion to get a new phone the day a new model comes out. My iPhone5 works perfectly well and the OS upgrade should make it work even better (if possibly a bit uglier UI.) Most people wait for their phone agreements to be up, which means waiting two years if you have one of the older phone plans or a year if you have one of the newer ones.

So scalpers, hipster d-bags, and the "trendy", huh? Great. They'll feel like idiots on the 10th when Apple announces launch in October.

Originally Posted byRichard Getz

That depends on release date. If the 10th, then only 4 days.

No way is it coming out on announcement day.

Originally Posted byMacManFelix

It sounds like fun but don't these people havejobs?!?

You're joking, right? When the government will give you food, housing, cable, Internet, cell phone, and utilities for free, why bother working? Heck, it's more profitable to get put in jail than it is to work for a living.

Let's face it, anyone who stands in line anymore are attention grabbers. They are idiots if they think getting a new iPhone at 0 hour will change their life. I think they will get all the attention they can, and sell their spot for another idiot when the time comes. Or sell their phone when they walk out the store.

thats a little much, to show up before it even exists, i could see showing up on tuesday at 10 and reading all the blogs and such of the event, but can't imagine they are doing it just for themselves. It seems to be free advertising for their company or just publicity in general. Only leaving when nature calls, so no shower, no proper bed for a week? no thank you. I remember seeing a couple of line waiters in our city but it wasn't a big deal last year, but I still was up at midnight and just ordered online.

Android 4.3 was released to Nexus devices a little over a month ago, but, as is usual with Android updates, it's taking much longer to roll out the general public. Right now, a little over six percent of Android users have the latest version. And if you pay attention to the various Android forums out there, you may have noticed something: no one cares.

I really doubt that 6% have 4.3. Maybe 4.2+4.3 at 6%.

Anyway, 4.2 and 4.3 are still jelly bean, and they bring nothing new. It isn't worth the effort. Looks like Google stopped focussing on new things since 4.0, and started cleaning the house and waiting for the masses to catch up.

That's a nice strategy. What are users going to do? Go to Windows phone? lol

The problem is that when they release something new, they will face a "windows XP"-like situation.

No. They are part of a fraud empire that's rampant throughout Brooklyn and notorious for stealing Verizon and AT&T customer info and taking it to the Apple Store to add 2 lines or more to "their" account. They pay for the phones in cash then unlock them and sell them for full retail price making a nice $450 profit for themselves. The 5S is more important to them than anyone else. This is their job. You will probably hear more about this in the future. And there you have it.

They would probably make more with a cardboard 'Homeless' sign and a cup.

Better than my Bose, better than my Skullcandy's, listening to Mozart through my LeBron James limited edition PowerBeats by Dre is almost as good as my Sennheisers.

You're joking, right? When the government will give you food, housing, cable, Internet, cell phone, and utilities for free, why bother working? Heck, it's more profitable to get put in jail than it is to work for a living.

I wonder what makes you conclude that they are on benefits?

I'd imagine that they are trying to promote themselves (in one way or another), after all it's not as if the new phone(s) are perceived as being ground breaking